{"id":147,"date":"2020-05-18T14:20:42","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T14:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/healthservice\/?page_id=147"},"modified":"2026-01-30T22:18:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:18:50","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/faq\/","title":{"rendered":"Frequently Asked Questions  (FAQs)"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- Inserted by Dropdownizer plugin. Forces video embeds contained in dropdowns to have a size --><style>.dropdownizer__dropdown iframe { width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; }<\/style>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does the Health Service at Vassar provide?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Vassar College Health Service provides routine primary medical care throughout the academic year and is open while students are in residence weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and weekends&nbsp;11 a.m.&nbsp;to 4:00 p.m. The staff at the Health Service consists of health care professionals with many years combined experience in identifying and treating the full spectrum of medical concerns that can occur in college students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the response to an emergency?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the case of an emergency, call the Campus Response Center at <a href=\"tel:+18454377333\">(845) 437-7333<\/a> immediately to request an emergency medical and Campus Safety response.  After hours there is a medical provider on call who is available for consultation when needed. The Vassar College campus is also served by local fire and emergency medical service companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What hospital will be utilized?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Most patients will be transported to either of the following local facilities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vassar Brothers Medical Center <a href=\"tel:+18454548500\">(845) 454-8500<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center Emergency Room <a href=\"tel:+18454835000\">(845) 483-5000<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What if a student has a medical concern when the health service is closed?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Health Service is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays and&nbsp;11 a.m.&nbsp;to 4:00 p.m. on weekends. If there is an emergency when the Health Service is closed, call <a href=\"tel:+18454377333\">(845) 437-7333<\/a> for an emergency response. If you have a less urgent problem but are unsure of the need for immediate care, contact the campus response center (CRC) at <a href=\"tel:+18454375221\">(845) 437-5221<\/a> who will notify the on-call Health Service medical provider. If available, they can also notify the campus emergency medical technician (EMT), who can provide a medical assessment and render treatment within their scope of practice and expertise. The EMT can also consult with the on-call medical provider and can coordinate transfer to a local health care facility if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following college professionals are on call after hours:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Medical provider<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mental Health Counselor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>College Administrator<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Campus Safety<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who has access to a patient's medical record?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The staff members at the Health Service have access to all confidential medical records. Staff members are expected to uphold patient privacy and confidentiality in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/privacy\/\">Confidentiality and Medical Records policy<\/a>. In you would like to allow someone else to access your medical records, you will need to sign a <a href=\"https:\/\/na4.documents.adobe.com\/public\/esignWidget?wid=CBFCIBAA3AAABLblqZhAoMBXq3nqSTmdrLEsWDAi0A_Uz5-dRvvpmioHnWPRedsFgoXc0U3XA3sb58ufn4_4*\">medical records release<\/a> form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will parents be notified if a student is ill?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally, parents are not called if a student is ill unless the student requests parental notification or if the student has a very serious injury or illness. We encourage students to notify parents or guardians for most deviations from health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happens if a student has a health concern and cannot study or attend class?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We recommend that students be seen at the Health Service during their illness or injury so that we may render timely care and discuss accommodations when prolonged recovery is expected.  We ask that students discuss their absence from class or inability to do work directly with their professors.  We do not notify individual instructors or professors of a student's medical condition.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If a student has a chronic illness how is their treatment maintained?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many students with chronic illness can be monitored by the Health Service and\/or by local specialists while they are at Vassar. We request that students with chronic medical conditions bring their medical records with them so that this information can be included in their medical chart and we can coordinate care with off-campus treatment providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How will a student get a prescription filled?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If a prescription medication is ordered during a medical visit at the Health Service, it can be obtained at the Health Service (if available) and paid using VCASH or it can be e-prescribed and filled at a <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/contact\/directions\/\">local pharmacy<\/a>. Prescriptions from a doctor outside of the Health Service can be filled at a local pharmacy or an appointment can be made with a medical staff member to obtain the medication (if available) at the Health Service. Some local pharmacies will even deliver to campus, however this service needs to be established by the patient with the individual pharmacy.  We do recommend that students arrange for mail order delivery to their on-campus mailbox if they are on chronic, long-term medications.  If students are prescribed refrigerated medications, please contact Health Service to discuss delivery and storage options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are there any charges if students are seen at the Health Service?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The health fee included in the tuition covers the cost of most visits to the Health service. There are charges for some in-house services such as allergy injections, ear irrigations and immunizations, as well as for medications and supplies that are maintained in the office for students' convenience, should the student choose to receive them.&nbsp;For more details, please refer to our <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/billing\/\">billing information.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does the Student Health Insurance cover?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Health Service visits are available to all students regardless of their insurance. Much of the cost of prescribed medications and laboratory tests are covered by the Vassar College Student Insurance. Additionally, there is coverage towards emergency room visits, outside specialist referral, diagnostic imaging and hospitalization. The insurance is offered through <a href=\"https:\/\/go.gallagherstudent.com\/Universities\/Vassar%20College\/Home\">Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk<\/a>. This is a PPO plan which uses&nbsp;United Healthcare&nbsp;as the Preferred Provider network.&nbsp;The coverage is customized for Vassar students.  For students wishing to waive this insurance coverage or who have additional questions about the student health insurance plan, please address this with the <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/student-financial-services\/billing\/insurance\/\">Office of Student Financial Services.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I get the meningitis (MenACWY) immunization at Vassar?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, and you can also get allergy or flu shots, travel immunizations and other routine immunizations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What does the Health Service at Vassar provide? Vassar College Health Service provides routine primary medical care throughout the academic year and is open while students are in residence weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and weekends&nbsp;11 a.m.&nbsp;to 4:00 p.m. The staff at the Health Service consists of health care professionals with many years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":651,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-147","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1292,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147\/revisions\/1292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/health-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}